Israeli Music

In every country and among every people, music attests to national character and national ideals.
The rhythms, harmonies, melodies, and poetry of music relate to and help to define personal characteristics, social customs and rituals, national religion, as well as national and personal identity. Most of today’s societies have had hundreds or thousands of years to develop a national music; the State of Israel has had only since 1948 to assert itself as a political, social, and cultural entity in a fast-moving world. In many ways, the history of Israeli music reflects the broad struggles of that young country.

Jewish immigrants to Palestine brought with them music of their various host countries. The leaders of the Zionist movement sought to inspire and unite these new olim (immigrants) with a common cultural identity. To that end, Zionist musicians composed hundreds of short and simple folk songs for dissemination among the immigrant communities and among Jews abroad. The songs’ lyrics spoke of the experience of living in the Holy Land, from stories about the agricultural cycle to lullabies to stories of love. Their musical qualities combined the sounds of European music with hallmarks of the "exotic" -- minor modes, the Yemenite trill, and Arabic instruments. Many of these songs are still sung today throughout the Jewish community; among the most well-known is the love song "Erev Shel Shoshanim" ("Evening of Lillies").

The folk tradition dovetailed into a new form of national popular music, represented above all by Naomi Shemer. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Shemer sang of the uniqueness of the land of Israel. Her song “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” (“Jerusalem of Gold”)--composed just before the Six Day War of 1967--spoke of Jews’ longing for Jerusalem. After Jerusalem’s unification, Shemer famously modified the lyrics to reflect Israel’s accomplishments in the war.